This invention relates to remote control rear view mirrors and more particularly to a remote control rear view mirror which makes use of electric motors to adjust the viewing angle thereof.
Heretofor, the rear view mirrors used on passenger cars and smaller trucks have been generally considered too small in size to have any electric motors mounted right in the mirror housings to adjust the viewing angle of such mirrors. And, those designed to accomodate such motors, either in the housings or elsewhere, have had to be of special design, making their cost high and causing low production demand to keep the market prices inflated.
Only the larger sized rear view mirrors, the so-called West Coast mirrors used with large trucks, tractors and busses, have been made and offered with electric motors to operate them. And these are also quite expensive because of the low production and special design features required.
What appears to be needed is a rear view mirror construction that is adaptable for use as a manually operated rear view mirror, as a cable operated remote control rear view mirror and which can also accomodate and use electric motors to effect the viewing angle changes required of such mirrors. This would enable the main components of such mirrors to be made in larger quantities and thereby reduce the production costs for the power operated rear view mirrors.
Generally speaking, the mirror housing needs to be of sufficient size to accomodate the means which affords the pivotal support for the mirror and the actuating means, whether cable operated or electrical motors, within the same space. Or, stated another way, the electrical motors have to be so designed and packaged that they will fit within the same space that the manual support or cable operating means occupy in the other adaptations of the mirror parts.
As will be shown, this is best accomplished by not attempting to use the same means of pivotal support in the different types of mirrors but rather by modifying the means of support to afford more space and room in the mirror design which makes use of the electric motors.
Such design and other improvements will best be known and appreciated in referring to the drawing figures and their detailed description which follows.